Under current law, the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) must annually publish a school and school district accountability report (annual accountability report) that includes (a) an index system to identify a school's level of performance and to annually place each school into one of five performance categories and (b) the following measures, which are used to determine a school's performance or a school district's improvement:

1. Pupil achievement and growth in reading and mathematics

2. Measures of college and career readiness for high school pupils and measures indicative of being on track for college and career readiness in the elementary grades.

3. Gaps in pupil achievement and rates of graduation, categorized by race, English language proficiency, disability, and income level.

Current law requires DPI to include independent charter schools and private schools participating in a parental choice program (PCP) in the annual accountability report one year after the independent charter school or PCP school begins using a student information system for the standardized collection of student data. Current law requires independent charter schools and PCP schools to begin using a student information system in the 2015-16 school year.

Under the bill, DPI must include in the school and school district accountability report (a) an index system to identify a school's level of performance and a school district's improvement and to annually place each school and school district into one of five performance categories, (b) a definition for each of the five performance categories, and (c) the following measures, categorized by race, English language proficiency, disability, and income level, which are used to determine a school's performance or a school district's improvement:

1. Pupil achievement in reading and mathematics.

2. Growth in pupil achievement in reading and mathematics, calculated using a value-added methodology.

3. Gap closure in pupil achievement in reading and mathematics and, when available, in graduation rates.

4. Rates of attendance or of high school graduation.

The bill also clarifies that DPI must include independent charter schools and private schools participating in a PCP in the annual accountability report that is due by September 2016, and that DPI must use the same criteria to evaluate all schools included in the annual accountability report.

Current law: low-performing school districts and schools; state superintendent interventions

Under current law, if the state superintendent of public instruction (state superintendent) determines that a school district has been in need of improvement for four consecutive school years the following apply:

1. The school board of the school district must employ a curriculum aligned with the state's model academic standards, use pupil academic performance data to differentiate instruction to meet individual pupil needs, implement a system of academic and behavioral supports and early interventions for all pupils, and provide additional learning time to address the needs of pupils who are struggling academically.

2. The state superintendent may direct the school board of the school district to do one or more of the following:

a. Implement or modify any requirements described above.

b. Implement a new instructional design, including expanded school hours and additional pupil supports and services.

e. Adopt accountability measures to monitor the school district's finances or to monitor other interventions directed by the state superintendent.

Under current law, if the state superintendent determines that a school was in the lowest five percent of all public schools in the state in the previous school year and the school is located in a school district that has been in need of improvement for four consecutive school years the following apply:

1. The school board of the school district must use rigorous and equitable performance evaluations for teachers and principals, adopt criteria to evaluate the distribution of teachers and principals within the school and throughout the school district, establish teacher and principal improvement programs, and adopt placement criteria for principals that include performance evaluations and pupil achievement measures.

2. The state superintendent may direct the school board of the school district to do one or more of the following:

a. Implement a new instructional design, including expanded school hours and additional pupil supports and services.

b. Create a school improvement council, the members of which include the state superintendent, the school board president, the school principal and representatives of certain labor organizations, to make recommendations about improving the school to the state superintendent.

Current law authorizes DPI to withhold state aid from a school district that fails to comply with a directive made by the state superintendent to the school board of a low performing school or school district.

The bill replaces these provisions with the interventions for chronically failing schools and school districts described below.

Chronically failing schools and school districts

Identifying chronically failing schools and school districts

Under the bill, a chronically failing school or school district is a public school, including a charter school, or school district that is placed in the lowest performance category in three consecutive annual accountability reports. The bill creates the public and charter school accountability board (PCAB), which is attached to DPI, to review annual accountability reports and identify chronically failing schools and school districts. The PCAB must notify the school board of a chronically failing school district and the school board of each school district in which a chronically failing school is located, or the operator of a chronically failing independent charter school, that the school district or school has been identified as a chronically failing school or school district. Within 30 days of receiving notice, a school board or operator may appeal its identification as a chronically failing school or school district. On appeal, the PCAB may choose not to identify a school or school district as a chronically failing if the board determines that exceptional circumstances justify the school or school district's performance on the annual accountability reports.

Improvement plans and interventions

Under the bill, the school board of a school district in which a chronically failing school is located, or, in the case of a chronically failing independent charter school, the operator of the independent charter school must develop and submit an improvement plan to the PCAB that describes the steps that the school board or operator will take to improve the school's performance. The school board of a chronically failing school district must submit an improvement plan to the PCAB that employs a curriculum aligned with the state's model academic standards, uses pupil academic performance data to differentiate instruction to meet individual pupil needs, implements a system of academic and behavioral supports and early interventions for all pupils, and provides additional learning time to address the needs of pupils who are struggling academically. The PCAB must review and approve improvement plans submitted by schools boards and operators of independent charter schools. A school board or operator of an independent charter school must comply with an approved improvement plan until the PCAB removes the chronically failing school or school district label from the applicable school or school district. If a school district is identified as a chronically failing school district for three consecutive school years, the PCAB may, with the approval of the state superintendent, direct the school board of the school district to do one or more of the following:

a. Implement or modify any requirements required to be in a school district improvement plan.

b. Implement a new instructional design, including expanded school hours and additional pupil supports and services.

e. Adopt accountability measures to monitor the school district's finances or to monitor other interventions directed by the state superintendent.

The bill authorizes DPI to withhold state aid from a school district that fails to comply with an improvement plan for a chronically failing school or school district or with a directive made by the PCAB to the school board of a chronically failing school or school district. Additionally, the contract for an independent charter school that is identified as a chronically failing school in the penultimate year of a contract term, may not be renewed.

Chronically failing choice schools

Under the bill, a chronically failing choice school is a private school that at least 20 pupils are attending under a PCP and that is placed in the lowest performance category for three consecutive annual accountability reports. The bill creates the parental choice school accountability board (choice accountability board), which is attached to DOA, to review annual accountability reports and identify chronically failing choice schools. The choice accountability board must provide DPI with a list of the chronically failing choice schools the board identifies and notify the governing board of each private school that the private school has been identified as such. Within 30 days of receiving a notice, the governing board of a private school may appeal its identification as a chronically failing school. On appeal, the board may choose not to identify the private school as a chronically failing choice school for one school year if the board determines that exceptional circumstances justify the private school's performance on the annual accountability reports.

A private school that the choice accountability board identifies as a chronically failing choice school may not accept any new students under a PCP beginning in the school year the private school is identified as a chronically failing choice school. However, any pupil attending the private school under a PCP at the time the private school is identified as a chronically failing private school may continue to attend the private school under a PCP. Three school years after being identified as a chronically failing choice school, a private school may reapply to DPI to begin accepting new students under a PCP. For purposes of applying to begin accepting new students under a PCP, the private school must apply to DPI in the same manner as a new private school applying to begin participating in a PCP.